"When people feel emotional pain, the same areas of the brain get activated as when people feel physical pain: the anterior insula and the anterior cingulate cortex."

Alan Fogel

Pain results from a signal from our nerves to our brain. This signal initially serves as an alarm warning to tell us that something is wrong. But sometimes those signals keep firing, and the pain continues. That is when it becomes chronic. Chronic pain can begin to dominate our life and become debilitating, isolating and feeling helpless and frustrated. There is however, no miracle cure! Learning to manage; get relief and have moments or days of little pain is the goal.

This requires a toolbox of strategies and support.

As a therapist that places the body as a central component for emotional and physical integration, I believe one's attitude and relationship to pain is central in managing it. Body awareness approaches with visualization are all very helpful. Also developing the ability to describe to pain sensation as just sensations without allowing thoughts to dominate the experience is vital for changing one's reaction to pain and altering the repetitive pain pathways.

Alternative and complementary therapies are also part of that toolbox support such as: acupuncture, naturopathic medicine, massage, meditation, yoga, chiropractic, osteopathy, energy healing...